BEWARE of Hervey's Spax Shocks! Washers pulled through mounting...

[kajcienski]

I was at the Long Island DeLorean Club's summer cruise today (by the way, SUPER job as usual Tom and Dave!) and began to notice a "clunking" sound coming from the front right wheel area over small bumps. It got progressively worse until it was obvious that something was very wrong. Thankfully I ran into Tom and after describing the sound and behavior, he immediately asked "did you get the Spax from Hervey?". Turns out the same thing happened to Tom. The washers that hold the rubber bushings and mount the top of the shock to the frame are EXTREMELY thin (like a stamped tin can) and can actually get pulled through the mounting and destroyed. If you drive when the shock has pulled loose, it starts to tear apart and widen the hole the shock mounts to. This happened to me unfortunately but the shock survived. Tom replaced the washers with ones that actually had some meat to them. So... TAKE PRECAUTIONS if you have installed these on your car. The washers MUST be replaced with heftier ones. I now have to get the hole welded and resized so the shock does not have any play in them from side to side. This has happened to several people and is a very real issue.

On another note, do you guys think I have any grounds to ask Hervey from re-imbursment for fixing this? I consider this a defective product and cause damage to the car frame... Let me know what you think I should do guys. I will be contacting John on Monday and at least voice my concern. Thanks!

[pezzonovante88]

I was at the Long Island DeLorean Club's summer cruise today (by the way, SUPER job as usual Tom and Dave!) and began to notice a "clunking" sound coming from the front right wheel area over small bumps. It got progressively worse until it was obvious that something was very wrong. Thankfully I ran into Tom and after describing the sound and behavior, he immediately asked "did you get the Spax from Hervey?". Turns out the same thing happened to Tom. The washers that hold the rubber bushings and mount the top of the shock to the frame are EXTREMELY thin (like a stamped tin can) and can actually get pulled through the mounting and destroyed. If you drive when the shock has pulled loose, it starts to tear apart and widen the hole the shock mounts to. This happened to me unfortunately but the shock survived. Tom replaced the washers with ones that actually had some meat to them. So... TAKE PRECAUTIONS if you have installed these on your car. The washers MUST be replaced with heftier ones. I now have to get the hole welded and resized so the shock does not have any play in them from side to side. This has happened to several people and is a very real issue.

On another note, do you guys think I have any grounds to ask Hervey from re-imbursment for fixing this? I consider this a defective product and cause damage to the car frame... Let me know what you think I should do guys. I will be contacting John on Monday and at least voice my concern. Thanks!

Wow! Yep, you should definitely let him know and work something out.

[DMC5180]

It's known issue and it happened to me too. The fix from SPAX was to install a thicker washer. I contacted the UK club (where I originally purchased my Spax) before they were available Stateside. They promptly sent me a new upper bushing set. The washers did not appear to be any thicker than what I had so I choose not to install them. I've got a set of old washers from OEM Girling shocks on mine. They are twice the thickness of the Spax supplied ones. No Issues since.

Don't hold your breath when it comes to Hervey. He'll probably tell to stick a common Hardware store flat washer between the nut and cup washer. He won't reimburse for any damage you think needs then be welded. Then he'll probably go off on a political tangent during your conversion along with talking smack about the DMCH "Cartel". He seems to live in his own little world these days. He gets new unassuming customers due to his slightly cheaper pricing and Looses just as many if not more old customers due to his poor customer service and arrogance. BTDT I won't go back unless there is no other option.

[thirdmanj]

This just happened to a friend of mine on a drive up to MA this weekend. But his were installed by DMCH less than 6 months ago.

[kajcienski]

Wow - didn't know so many people had a "shock fail"! I guess the one thing to do in good conscience is to tell Hervey to consider changing the washers. Whether he listens or not, gotta try!

[Chris 16409]

I'm sure Hervey just supplies what came with the shocks. I had those thin washers as well. On my passenger side, I believe, the washer started to cut into the bushing. I discovered it before any real damage was done. I just found some thick washers and did both sides. The least you can do is inform Hervey that the washers are too thin and make sure he tells customers not to use them. I bought mine from the UK DeLorean Club.

[kajcienski]

Do other vendors like DMC swap out the washers for heftier ones in their orders? I feel if vendors know this is an issue, it is their obligation to be sure they release the sets with the thicker washers - especially when it can cause frame damage and presents a possible safety issue. A lack of common sense really bothers me - people like me who are no experts on cars (but trying very hard to learn more) get a little freaked out when something like this happens!

[jawn101]

Wow, VERY sorry to hear this Matt. I hope you get things sorted quickly and easily and am glad the damage wasn't more serious.

[kajcienski]

Wow, VERY sorry to hear this Matt. I hope you get things sorted quickly and easily and am glad the damage wasn't more serious.

Thanks Jon. I just feel bad that so many people have had this happen!

[ramblinmike]

I just checked on Hervey's website. He no longer sells Spax.

It sounds like a Spax issue that they fixed on their end.